Very cute, fun and kid friendly embroidered apron Project.

Yes, I know , we live in Canada and we already had our Thanksgiving back last month in October. However, this video Tutorial project is SO cute and informative that I figured we could definitely use it and possibly make the apron for Christmas instead? You eat turkey at Christmas too, don’t you?  And would it not be a cool holiday project to do together with some of the special kids in our lives?   And, of course, this is not too late for Thanksgiving in the USA!

The project was made using our Janome AcuSketch App and then embroidered on our Janome MC550E  

This is another wonderful video project tutorial from Kimberly Einmo, National spokesperson for Janome America. She works together with KK showing just how easy and kid friendly it is to sketch a design on our Janome AcuSketch App and then stitch it onto an apron with the Janome MC550E . Here is the link to the video. 

And you might remember I did a very similar thing with my little 9 year old grand-daughter earlier this year  – she was actually only 8 years old then. She drew a picture of a fish, traced over that in AcuSketch app and then embroidered it on the Janome MC15000 and turned that embroidery into a cuddly pillow for her bed!  Here is the link to that post if you missed it. 

Have you tried out our Janome AcuSketch App? It is not just for the Janome Mc15000….it can be used with ANY of our Janome embroidery machines!

Attaching Presser Feet on the Janome MC9450 and other similar JANOME models

There’s something that all sewing machines have: presser feet. The Janome MC9450 has lots and lots of presser feet, really one for any type of sewing you might do with this machine. These feet attach to the machine to use, of course, but some of them attach a little bit differently than the others and I’ve noticed that some sewists struggle to get these feet properly attached to the Janome MC9450. In this blog post, I’m going to examine the various types of presser feet and how they attach to the Janome MC9450 so you’ll never have to struggle again.

I’ve divided the presser feet into 4 categories:

1. those that use the “regular” foot holder
2. those that are permanently attached to their own foot holder
3. those that use the AcuFeed Flex system
4. those that are used for darning

Let’s consider each category. First, the majority of the feet included with the Janome MC9450 will use what I call the “regular” foot holder. Feet can be attached and detached from this foot holder by pressing in the black button at the back of the foot holder.

Some of the feet that are permanently attached to a foot holder include the HP foot and the Ruler Work foot. It’s easy to identify these feet as they are already on a foot holder, so can’t be detached to use the regular foot holder. They are all silver in colour.

There are two feet that come with the Janome MC9450 that use the AcuFeed Flex System: the AcuFeed Flex Professional Grade foot HP2 and the Dual Feed foot AD. There are other optional feet that can be purchased and they attach to the Janome MC9450 in a similar way.  These feet are easy to identify as they are wider and you might call them “walking feet”. They are different from the other feet in how they attach to the Janome MC9450 and these are the feet that I think some sewists struggle with trying to attach them on the machine.

In the last category are the two PD-H darning feet (closed-toe and open-toe) that come with the Janome MC9450. These feet also are permanently attached to their foot holders, but they have a straight bar that is on one side of the foot and that must rest on top of the needle clamp screw (what I call the needle bar) when attaching it to the Janome MC9450.

It’s difficult to explain how each of these feet properly attaches to the Janome MC9450, so I’ve created a video so you can see exactly how to do this properly for all of these types of feet. Click here to view this video.

I hope that this information helps you to attach your presser feet to your Janome MC9450 properly. And don’t forget to tighten that set screw!

If you have the same or similar feet for your Janome machine (which may not be a Janome MC9450), this information and video will still apply to you – Janome feet all attach in a very similar way. Ed.

Happy creating from Kim Jamieson-Hirst, a Janome Canada Artisan in Calgary, Alberta.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH: Lemoyne star table runner Part 1/Block 1

Kimberly Einmo is the Janome National spokesperson for Janome America and is a well known and much loved Quilting teacher . She has also published patterns, books and has her own line of fabrics.  She has a wealth of quilting knowledge and much more …..and she is a total sweetheart!

In this step by step video tutorial, Kimberly Einmo will teach you how to make the first block in this beautiful Lemoyne Star Table Runner.  Here is a great PART 1 video for you to follow along as Kimberly shows you exactly how to make block #1: the lemoyne star block for a table runner.

Now this is not the block you will learn about in this video tutorial but as I could not find an image of the table runner in the video, I decided to pop in this Friendship star instead. ……BUT you will see the table runner project in the first minute of the video link above!

One of the books that Kimberley has published.

She will show you how to use the Quilt Block Advisor on Janome’s new Continental M7, the Computerized One-Touch Needle Plate Conversion, the AcuSpark app, and give you a sneak peek at the new expanded Sewing Applications. BUT DON’T WORRY! Even if you don’t own the Janome Continental M7 yet, you will still be able to follow along.  Hit the bell on the You Tube link to get notifications and subscribe to keep up with her projects!

00:42 – Quilt Block Advisor

1:55 – AcuSpark App

2:53 – Expanded Sewing Applications

3:22 – Cutting the fabric

8:19 – Marking the fabric

10:13 – Computerized One-Touch Needle Plate Conversion

11:22 – Sewing the Block

14:45 – Pressing Tip

To learn more about this new machine, visit: Janome Continental M7   

To purchase anything you see in content, visit: Janome.ca/find-a-dealer

You can (as mentioned above) hit the bell on the You Tube link to subscribe and receive notifications of further video’s from Kimberly but we will publish Part 2/Block 2 here on janomelife when it becomes available. Keep watching!

JANOME Embroidery Show & Tell

Raise your hand if you got excited as a kid when it was time for Show & Tell at school! I know I certainly did.  I was always bringing crafts I had made: toys, special people etc. I even took our cat to school for my daughter’s show and tell day. He was not impressed. But one of the highlights for us and our children and grandchildren was sharing things important to us. Would you agree that trying something new or making something from a new pattern or technique you just learned, and then sharing it, is a highlight for us? It certainly is for me. It’s my favorite part of Education Events and shows, to share our samples. So without further ado, welcome to Janome Embroidery Show & Tell!!

Recently a brand new embroidery machine was introduced, the Janome 550E Embroidery Machine. Having a machine exclusive to embroidery is a new thing for me, so as soon as it arrived, I set to unpacking it and setting it up. Previously I was on the fence about a dedicated embroidery machine, but I am no longer there – lol. I am firmly on the ‘have two machines’ side of the fence. I absolutely love setting up a design, and then continuing on with my regular sewing while the embroidery machine is working away in my sewing room. It really does maximize my creative time, because I can sew or quilt at the same time as embroidering designs!

One of the main features of the Janome 550E is the large hoop size, 7.9″x 14.2″. It is our largest hoop available, and has a new clamping mechanism (see pic above) which I found extremely useful when making some kitchen towels with waffle fabric. It’s a little stretchy, so being able to close them half way to adjust the fabric before tightening the clamp, was awesome.

Using a water soluble stablilizer, like the Avalon Film from Madeira, made the embroidery stay on top of the towel instead of sinking in to the waffle pattern and distorting.

I love the precision of the embroidery stitches, placed exactly where they need to be with no gaps between the different colors.

Prairie Points on the bottom of the towel give it a bit of weight and decorative finish. I also used the quilt binder attachment to bind the edges.

It also includes some really beautiful scroll designs in the Wedding Designs section of the built-in designs on the Janome Mc550E.  I have always wanted “show towels” for our powder room, and so I stitched one out to snap around the towel bar. (What a brillaint idea – I think I’m going to “steal” that idea from janomegirl! Ed.)      I also used the built-in editing features of the machine to add our last name to the stitching.

Next up during playtime, was the adorable In-The-Hoop monster family. These were a lot of fun to make. In fact, our dog Snickers kept trying to steal them as I was sewing up the opening after stuffing them! My favorite one is the one I added hair to. Using some chenille style yarn from my craft box, I taped it down with scotch tape and then ran the placement stitch again. I did make sure to turn the speed down all the way, I didn’t want to deal with having the yarn get stuck!

Meet Snickers, our adorable small ‘horse’. This monster is her favorite!

I also added some cute felt spikes to the horizontal monster. These were placed down before the backing was added so they would stick out properly once the toy was stuffed. I think I might make some of these for the dog, out of super durable fabric like ripstop nylon or fleece. I could probably even find a squeaker out of a toy she has already played with!  (So there you have pet holiday gift ideas too! Ed)

As I got to know The Janome MC550E more, I stitched out a design from each section. This way I have an example of different types of designs available to share in person when I am visiting Janome Canada Dealer stores.

Next up was the giant sashiko designs! I absolutely love how simple these designs are, but so elegant when added to a project. I stitched out two of them and made a pair of placemats, complete with a scalloped border which I found on Pinterest. I embroidered them onto the batting as well, so they have a bit of extra puff in the center.

This design looks equally as stunning stitched in one color instead of three. See my post about the poofy zip pouch here!

Who doesn’t love a cup of tea in a vintage china tea cup? This belonged to my Nana, who passed away in July. Sipping tea out of it brings back so many memories.

These placemats were edged with a scalloped border I found on Pinterest, and then top-stitched around the seam with some heavy weight thread.

Madeira has some lovely multi-colored thread available in their line up…… contact your local Janome Canada dealer for more information and to see the shades!

Did you know that you can use the Quilting Designs for more than just quilting? Check out this little zipper bag I made recently at a Janome Canada Education Event. We embroidered the snowflake on the vinyl, and then made it into a zip bag for sewing tools, or makeup brushes, or anything else!

This glitter vinyl is so easy to work with! I floated it on top of my hooped stabilizer. You could also use the Artistic Tack Temporary Adhesive spray to stick it to the stabilizer.

Last but not least, I made a really fun banner. Using Artistic Digitizer, I added some lettering to each pennant, and then used the new Convert To Floral tool to add some decorative elements to my spacer pennants. Look for a tutorial on this Convert to Floral tool – coming soon on janomelife!

I found some pom-pom trim in my stash, and used it to chain all the pennants together. The little squares are filled popcorn kernels as weights.

You can choose to have either an outline, a fill, or both when working with text in Artistic Digitizer.

An example of ‘Convert To Floral’  -part of the FREE version 1.5 update to Artistic Digitizer 1.5.

I hope you enjoyed Show & Tell, and we’d love to see what you have been making on your embroidery machines! You can always use the hashtag #janomecanada or #janomelife when posting to social media, or even tag us in the photo with @janomecanada so that we can see what you have been up to.

Until next time,

JanomeGirl

 

 

Skipped Stitches Solutions Part 2

Today, I’ll continue to share more tips and tricks to help eleviate the universal pet-peeve of the dreaded skipped stitch. Please click on this link to review Part 1.

Most of the time, a bit of tweaking with your tools and/or technique can easily rectify the issue of skipped, or wonky stitches. Keeping the presser foot level, for example, is essential to forming a good stitch.

Think, though, when you’ve tried to hem a pair of jeans; when you were stitching along fine until you attempted to climb that thick, bulky inseam. It seemed (no pun intended, lol!) like Mount Everest, didn’t it? As you approached that bulky seam, the presser foot started to slant upwards and was soon at a 45 degree angle, instead of being straight at 90 degrees to the needle. Not only is this a recipe for many skipped stitches, it’s also recipe for a broken needle. Here’s two little tricks you can do to claim victory over this once dreaded task. Well, three, if you count using one of our many heavy duty Janome machines, lol!

One of my favourite tools, which comes with many of our Janome machines, by the way, is the Button Shank Plate, which I’ve written about in previous posts. It’s such a handy tool, not only when sewing on buttons by machine, but for keeping the presser foot level when sewing over thick, bulky layers. Check out my post on Tips for Bag Making/ Heavy Duty Sewing for more useful tips.

The other little tip is to engage the little black button on the standard zig-zag “A” foot to keep the presser foot level. “What?”, you might ask. I love when sewists discover this little piece of brilliant engineering, especially when they’ve been sewing for many years and didn’t pay it any mind, or didn’t know it’s purpose. I had that same revelation soon after I started sewing back in high school and it’s truly an Aha moment.

My stiletto is pointing to the little black button (above) on the back of the standard zig-zag “A” foot. Push the button in and a little metal bar will slide across the back of the foot holder to lock the foot into position, which is 90 degrees to the needle. In the photo below, my stiletto is pointing to the bar across the back of the foot holder.

I recorded a quick video so you can see this in action. Keeping the presser foot level is essential to preventing skipped stitches.

Using the proper presser foot will also help prevent and eliminate skipped stitches. Janome’s AcuFeed Flex feet are like walking feet on steroids, and I use them for a variety of sewing applications. For example, I used the fabulous Janome AcuFeed Flex Professional Grade HP2 foot (below) to put in the zipper of my soft knit hoodie, so there was no bunching or stretching. This foot is available with some of our machines, like the amazing new Janome Continental M7P and the Janome MC 9450, but is also available in a separate blister pack for those machines with the special HP needle plate, like the Janome MC 9400, Janome MC 6700P and Janome MC 15000 Quiltmaker.

I used the AcuFeed Dual feed foot and twin foot holder (below), which comes standard with many Janome machines, to quilt vinyl for my iPad case. The Quilting Guide Bar comes with many of our machines, as well, or in a separate blister pack available from your Janome or Elna dealer. Look at those beautiful uniform stitches!

Please join me again soon for the third and final installment of Skipped Stitches Solutions. In the meanwhile, Happy Sewing!

 

 

 

Foot/Accessory of the month: Ribbon Sewing Guide

The Holiday season is upon us……we will be wrapping gifts, hanging tinsel and generally making things look pretty and seasonal in our homes – right?

So we thought we would remind you about a very nifty piece of Janome equipment which will assist you to decorate and embellish your ribbons  – customize gift wrapping with names and more.

This piece of equipment fits most of our sewing machines – it screws into the needleplate so will work if there is a hole on the needleplate. I think I may have only come across a couple of our models which do not have this hole. As the guide attaches to the needle plate, it does not matter whether your machine is high shank or low shank or 9mm wide or 7mm wide. But it needs to have the hole in the needle plate. Please check with your local Janome Dealer if you are unsure.  The part # for the Ribbon Sewing Guide is # 200444408

There are 2 different length screws and 2 different thicknesses of little rubber pads. Please follow the instructions on the Blister package for this Accessory to know which screw and which pad is to be used for your specific Janome  sewing machine. The pad goes under the ribbon guide and the screw goes through the guide and pad to attach it to the needle plate.

The white double sided guide (like 2 little “walls”) encloses the sides of the ribbon or tape and adjusts wider or narrower to perfectly accommodate ribbons or tapes. You can even make your own ribbons from scrap fabric if you wish. There is also a clear plastic guie rather like a long clip guide which secures the ribbon to further guide it straight. When all is in place, the ribbon or tape feeds through under the foot of the machine and your embellishment is perfectly positioned as it sews. You can use your alphabets/lettering to sew messages like Happy Birthday or Happy Christmas. Even add the name of the person who will receive your lovely, thoughtful gift for wonderful personalizing! Or decorate a plain ribbon with pretty decorative stitching on your sewing machine – now there is a way to use all those lovely stitches that so many of you tell me you don’t use!

TIP: If you are using a very soft or silky ribbon (which most are), I would highly recommend you pop a strip/piece of our Madeira WATER SOLUBLE stabilizer (Avalon) under the ribbon on sewing guide/above the needle plate, ie between the accessory and needle plate. This will stabilize the soft ribbon and your stitching will not pucker or distort. Alternatively, you could spray the ribbon with a liquid stabilizer to firm it up.  Press dry before sewing on the ribbon. I would not suggest a tearaway stabilizer as I (for one) would not want to pick all that stabilizer out from the back of the ribbon afterwards – My time and patience only extends so far lol! Water soluble stabilzer should just peel away easily and any remaining bits can be spritzed with water. Press the ribbon with a cool iron and press cloth when you are done embellishing.

Janome Australia has a very sweet project for you to make using the Ribbon Sewing Guide – a great little Christmas gift idea?  Check out this link for the full Tutorial. 

Hope you found this reminder about our Janome Ribbon Sewing Guide helpful. Bet you are going to to root around in your sewing drawers to find it now??

Have fun embellishing ribbon this holiday season!

Santa could come early this year?!

I know Halloween is just over and we will start seeing Christmas lights and decorations in the stores and streets soon…….. We want to tell you that we have some fabulous Holiday Sale offers at participating Janome Dealers …….check them out below; make your Wish Lists and visit your local Janome dealer to get in on these great offers…….I’m tempted to say “start the car!”

These Janome Holiday Sale Flyer offers are in effect from 3rd November to 31st December 2019 at participating Janome Canada Dealers. Not sure where to go to buy? Visit http://www.janome.ca and click on the “Where to buy” tab at the top of the screen next to the little Canadian flag.

 

What did I say? Start the car!

Skipped Stitches Solutions Part 1

A question we educators are often asked is, “How do I eliminate skipped stitches?” It’s a frustrating occurrence which happens to us all at one time or another, regardless of which brand of machine we use, or it’s value. Skipped Stitches are sometimes just part of sewing, but I’m going to share with you a couple of little tips and tricks to help eliminate those woes.

The first thing I check is the thread path of the needle thread to be sure it’s fully engaged in the tension disks and travelling through it’s correct path to the needle. Consult your manual to be sure, though I think pretty much every Janome machine has a numbered thread path to help make this easier.

Depending on the thread you’re using, like wiry Metallics, for example, and the thread orientation of your machine, using the Janome Spool Stand can often help correct wonky stitches.

Janome has both a 2 Spool and 5 Spool option, which is especially useful on the embroidery machines with frequent colour changes, like the new Janome MC 550E, Janome Skyline S9, and the Janome MC 15000 Quiltmaker. Having the extra height of the telescoping thread guide allows more distance for the thread to relax and uncurl before it reaches the tension disk and down to the needle.

There’s two little screw holes in the back of many Janome machines which will accept either of Janome Spool Stands.

But machines like the Janome MC 6700P, Janome HD9 and fabulous new Janome Continental M7P have this telescoping thread stand built-in.

The needle is the next thing I check. Is it dull, bent, or has it a burr? My motto is, “when it doubt, throw it out!” The cost of a needle is so insignificant when you consider the cost of your machine, fabric, time and sanity when trying to work with sub-standard equipment. Do yourself, and your machine a favour and replace your needles frequently. With experience, you will hear, as well as see in your stitching when they are dull. I found the below photo on Wikipedia. Cool, isn’t it?!

Your Janome dealer will either stock, or can order, each type of our Janome needles, which were manufactured by Organ to use specifically in our machines to ensure optimal stitch quality. Our three most popular needles are Janome Blue Tip, sz 11, Janome Red Tip, sz 14, which I use for probably 90% of my sewing, and, my all-time favourite, Janome Purple Tip, sz 14. For more information on needles, check out previous posts on Janome Life.

Janome Red Tip sz 14

Janome Blue Tip sz 11

Janome Purple Tip sz 14

Janome Purple Tip needles seem to be magic with their slightly flared, or Cobra, head, just before the eye of the needle. They stop skipped stitches dead in their tracks! I used one in place of a Denim, sz 16 needle, which was recommended in the pattern of the Jelly Roll rug I made last year at my men’s quilting retreat – and no skipped stitches!

Please join me again soon for Part 2 of Skipped Stitches Solutions. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to FOLLOW us here on Janome Life so you don’t miss a post!

 

MACHINE MODEL OF THE MONTH: THE PERFECT PAIR

Well, actually we focus on TWO new Janome machine models today: the Janome Continental M7 Professional and the Janome MC550E…….the PERFECT PAIR.

For more information about these 2 fabulous machines, check out our info below on the CM7P  our website.   And here  Janome Mc550E 

 

We have had a fantastic response to the launch of these 2 new machines and they are selling very well. You might want to get in on the action ……..visit your participating Janome Canada dealer today! Our Dealer locator is on the top of our www.janome.ca website – click Where to buy next to the little Canadian flag.

AcuDesign: Monsters for Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  It’s Monster Month and all the embroidery sites offer designs for Halloween.   Janome’s AcuDesign App has a collection of four funny monsters ready to be embroidered, and don’t be afraid… they’re not ugly !!!

With this Janome App, it is possible to make some changes to the designs and there are several ways to export these patterns to embroider –   depending on the model of your machine:

1. via WiFi for the Janome MC15000 and Janome Skyline S9
2. via email
3. via a USB stick
4. via Janome AcuEdit app.

AcuEdit Samatha Walker’s  ‘Monster’ Collection.

Here are all four that were exported by ‘magic’ in the AcuEdit app.

ACU Design

With Janome’s  Digitizer MBX,it is also possible to modify the designs. 

MBX Digitizer

In addition, you can view the embroidery and position it in the location of your choice on the garment selected in the following option: Personalize Drawing and Display Colors. They are all present on this garment to show the possibility of positioning.

And don’t forget to use Janome’s new Artistic Digitizer  software, which offers powerful features.

Artistic Digitizer

I embroidered the four funny monsters below without making any changes to the designs so that they are as representative of the quality of the embroidery with the simple AcuDesign App from Janome.

Visit your local Janome Authorized Dealer for a presentation or training on the Janome AcuDesign app and the different methods of transferring designs to your Jnaome embroidery machine.

Originally Published in Vie Janome on October 9, 2019  by  Céline Ross, edited by Anne-Margaret Vose and Liz Thompson.